What Is the Beijing Consensus?

The Beijing Consensus is a model of economic development that has been posited  as a challenge to the so-called Washington Consensus. The latter is taken to be  a confluence of policies backed by international organizations including the  World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, as  well as most western governments whose interests the Consensus tends to promote.

Read the full article here.

I’m Not Doing That – It’s Not Even Overdue Yet

I have been a little remiss in updating recently – it is a result of pressure of work. After a couple of weeks of having so many things to do simultaneously that I was hardly able to achieve anything, i have at least been able to get a few things out of the door. So, in the last couple of weeks, I finished four papers for the forthcoming IFRD Conference here in Bangkok in a couple of weeks, five articles for the Encyclopedia of Biomes, an article for Sudostasien, a paper for the soon to emerge South Asian Journal of Management Cases (I think that will be the title) and finalised the paper for the forthcoming Bandung Spirit book which is about Mekong Region capital cities.

There are still plenty more projects to complete before I can start to see the light of the onrushing train but at least productivity has been restored to some extent.

Review of Sirin Phathanothai’s The Dragon’s Pearl

In the years following the end of the Second World War and the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, the threat of Communist insurgency was very real across Southeast Asia. For those countries which, like Thailand, wished to remain steadfastly a member of the capitalist west, yet had a longstanding relationship with China and many millions of ethnic Chinese residents, the situation was complex.

Read the full review here.

Review of The S.E.A. Write Anthology of ASEAN Short Stories and Poems: The 30th Anniversary

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created on a basis of non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries. Permitting a variety of autocratic regimes freedom from scrutiny and public comment was considered the best means of ensuring that countries often at each other’s throats could work together in areas of mutual interest. In recent years, ASEAN has progressed to include the ten states of the region as members with a variety of schemes aimed at closer economic integration. Nevertheless, despite protestations to the contrary, it is quite evident that there remains something of a social and democratic deficit in the association’s workings.

Read the full review here.

What Is Citizen Science?

Citizen science is the name given to enlisting members of the general public to  participate in scientific data gathering and analysis. One of the founding  institutions of the concept was the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence  (SETI), which has collected an enormous amount of data from observations of  space across many years and in a variety of formats.

Read the full article here.

National Competitiveness Research: Thailand 2012

I am still collecting questionnaires concerning the competitiveness of Thailand as part of a multi-country study organized by the Institute of Policy Studies at Seoul National University. This is the third time that Shinawatra University has been given the responsibility for conducting this important interesting research.

If you would like to contribute your opinions, please let me know and I will be glad to send you a copy of the questionniare.

What Is Digital Taylorism?

Taylorism is named after Frederick Taylor, who is recognized as the founder of  scientific management. Scientific management is an approach which attempts to  maximize labour productivity by treating employees as if they were cogs in a  machine and can be positioned in exactly the right position.

Read the full article here.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 in Practice of Human Resource Development Aspect: A Case Study of the Vibhavadi Hospital

Announcing: Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “Corporate Social Responsibility and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 in Practice of Human Resource Development Aspect: A Case Study of the Vibhavadi Hospital,” paper presented at the 4th Mahidol HR International Conference (Bangkok: January 18-20th, 2012).

This conference was due to be held last year but was postponed as a result of the floods here in Bangkok. I was unable to attend but I know Khun Petcharat is quite capable of representing us well and she seemed pleased about the reception. Here is the abstract:

In recent years, many businesses have focused more closely on their images and good reputation. They have, to some extent, recognized that revenues and profit are not the ultimate goal in doing business. Much publicity has been sparked by periodic donations to charity contributed to organizations, associations and needy individuals. These activities are known collectively as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR activities seem to be developing more meaningful perspectives than have been witnessed in the past. In Buddhism, the concept of CSR is similar to the Buddhist principle called Sangahavatthudhamma 4, which is composed of sharing (Dāna), pleasant speech (Piyavācā), useful conduct (Atthacariyā) and promoting equality (Samānattatā). It is a method rooted in social welfare and one which creates good corporate governance as a sustainable development in society. This way of life shows the approach of assimilation in terms of both material and spiritual dimensions. This research will explore the connection between CSR and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 conducted in one of the hospitals in Thailand both in theory and practice. This approach has called for not only reflection in individuals but also in team working as a whole. Consequently, this may be an important method to develop and manage people in organizations as well. The findings rest upon personal in-depth interviews. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn from the research.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Sangahavatthudhamma 4, Human Resource Development, Hospital

I believe the proceedings and conference details are available online too, if anyone should wish to see the full text and other papers presented.

Hilfe, wir werden alt! Die Sorge um die alternde Gesellschaft und den sozialen Wandel in Thailand

Announcing: Walsh, John, “Hilfe, wir werden alt! Die Sorge um die alternde Gesellschaft und den sozialen Wandel in Thailand,” Südostasien, Jg.27, No.4 (2011), pp.36-7.

Einige Pflegeeinrichtungen für ältere Menschen sind in Thailand schon vorhanden. Doch noch kümmern sich die Kinder um die Senioren.

Why not buy a copy of this splendid magazine?

 

Behavioural Decision-Making in the Context of Sustainable Business Practices: The Case of Jaipur Rugs, India, 2011

Announcing the latest case study to be accepted for publication in my forthcoming book:

Behavioural Decision-Making in the Context of Sustainable Business Practices: The Case of Jaipur Rugs, India, 2011

Dr. R. K. Tyagi Head, School of Management, RGGI, Meerut

Abstract: Jaipur Rugs reaches more than 40,000 artisans —approximately 60 percent of who are women— in the most economically disadvantaged regions of India and is a handmade carpet manufacturer. As a part of its commitment to the Business Call to Action in January, 2012 it has announced that it will train some 10,000 people in Northern India in advanced carpet weaving techniques and provide them with access to global markets by 2015. This case focuses on the general concept of sustainability and the dynamics of underlying social and economic factors by outlining CSR practices in Jaipur Rugs and discussing its role in the business model. The issues involved were discussed with the company’s CEO, HR Manager, employees and staff. Telephone and personal interviews, together with company visits, were carried out to understand the business model, production processes and socially responsible practices employed in the company. It was found that Jaipur Rugs is using labour-intensive production processes, which boost employment and support economic growth through increased exports. The business model of the firm leads it to operate in a highly decentralized manufacturing and logistics system which, eventually, dramatically decreases its fixed cost. Medium-sized as well as small-scale productive ventures are human problems no less inimical to society than do large-scale ventures. It is further found that the model can be replicated by other firms willing to make CSR an integral part of a business model rather than just through paying lip service to it. This model is different from that of cooperatives and if replicated in other industries it can bring or add to self-employment. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Rural Employment.